The snakes howled as they were thrown into the pot to be boiled alive—or rather, have their bodies tempered.
The high temperatures and boiling blood nearly tore them apart, but the nutrients quickly strengthened their flesh to prevent that from happening.
Lu Ran had summoned Sudden Death King to supervise the process, but when it saw how pitiful the snakes were, unable to endure the tempering, it couldn’t stop itself from roaring in anger.
Its roar was imbued with its dragon aura, which helped awaken many of the snakes that were on the verge of passing out.
Though normally used to suppress enemies, its dragon aura had just been used for the opposite effect.
"Come on, y’all have to endure! But why does it smell so good?”
Seeing their familiars writhe in pain, Lu Bing and the others couldn't help but worry. However, they knew that sacrifices had to be made if they wanted to grow stronger.
Under the encouragement and intimidation of Sudden Death King, the nine serpents finally absorbed all the dragon blood and groggily crawled out of the pot. Their beastmasters collectively gulped as they felt the terrifying power radiating from them.
Their blood had undergone a qualitative change, gaining a golden glow, and they were now covered in a layer of hard scales. None of them showed any obvious signs of being burned.
"Alright, the next step is to fuse with the Dragon Blood trait."
Lu Ran gave the squad their next set of directions. In response, he squad members walked up to their familiars to give them the trait crystal that they had previously prepared.
After their tempering, the snakes felt a greater attraction to the trait crystals than before. Hence, they eagerly accepted them.
One by one, they fused with their new trait. It didn’t quite qualify as evolution yet, however. It was just the second step of the process.
Even so, dark clouds still gathered over the guild hall, causing a major commotion.
Dragon aura seeped out along with a dazzling light. Although it wasn’t enough to intimidate King-rank creatures, their bloodline's suppression effect was strong enough to affect weaker creatures.
The changes made the squad members ecstatic.
Before they could react, a blinding light engulfed the area as the first familiar underwent evolution.
A powerful burst of wind swept out as a huge green-scale flood dragon appeared in the sky. Its scales were even more pronounced than before, and it now had a small horn. Moreover, it looked extremely ferocious and was naturally capable of flight.
It struck a domineering pose and let out a deafening roar, thanking Lu Ran and Sudden Death King.
Then, one after another, the rest of the snakes ascended into the air. Though their colors differed from one another, indicating a difference in attributes, they all had dragon scales covering them.
Each was bound to have amazing defensive capabilities. It was Sudden Death King’s blood, after all.
Their horns, regardless of their attribute, were what granted them the ability to fly.
Lu Ran randomly chose one of the flood dragons to inspect.
[Name: Azure Flood Dragon]
[Species Rank: Superior Commander]
He soon realized that all nine flood dragons had become Superior Commanders.
Judging from the excited shouts of the team, their familiars had also likely awakened incredible species talents as well.
However, none of these were their biggest gain. They fell short of becoming King species or awakening the Dragon attribute, but they all emanated powerful dragon auras.
Sudden Death King was greatly satisfied. They had greatly bridged the gap between themselves and real dragons. Not only did they now have four legs and claws, but some of them even grew wings.
Moreover, they had all mastered Dragon Intent Formation and were now on the same level as the Tyrannosaurus Rex Squad.
Even if they weren’t King rank, their powerful dragon bloodline and intent formation put them on par with Low Kings. They were no longer completely outclassed by higher-ranking creatures.
Everyone turned to Lu Ran in excitement.
Lu Ran looked back at them with a smile.
"I guess you can say that they are like flood dragons in water[1]."
The fourth-generation beastmasters from Lu Village were all very talented, but without someone from the previous generation to guide them, they hadn’t had a chance to shine. All they needed was the proper nurturing.
With the flood dragons that Lu Ran had provided, their growth had been greatly accelerated. From here on out, whether they sank or swam depended on themselves.
While everyone shared the information on their familiars, Lu Ran issued them their next set of orders.
“Each of you has to solo a level 1 secret realm on Hell difficulty. I also hope that all of you can rank on the Champion rankings. Limitless City #7 might be a tough one, so feel free to try your luck in a different city. Your next primary objective is gathering resources."
The squad quickly set out for Limitless City #3 like a pack of hungry wolves.
Limitless City #3 was unfortunate enough to be the Lu Village’s home base, and the squad members couldn’t wait to show off in front of their fellow villagers.
Later that day in Limitless City #3, Pluto and Canine King had a drink at a bar in Beastmaster Square.
Although they used to be enemies, the emergence of Legendary secret realms made the major guilds set aside their differences and cooperate. It was their only choice. Legendary secret realms weren’t something a single guild could clear on their own.
Forget guilds—some smaller countries didn’t even have enough people to piece together a team for Legendary secret realms, forcing them to join teams composed by larger countries.
Pluto and Canine King were the representatives of their respective guilds, chosen to form a team together, but the duo was still far from being able to conquer a Legendary secret realm.
"Sometimes I think we should just give it up and ascend to level 2," Canine King griped and then took a drink.
"Why are you in such a hurry?"
Compared to Canine King, Pluto was in a much better headspace.
He ordered a drink from the bartender and asked, "Can you help me cheer him up?”
The bartender smiled slightly. "Don’t stress yourself out, Canine King. Very few people in Xia have cleared a Legendary secret realm. Don’t compare yourself to Pedestrian A. Him aside, you’re one of the best fourth-generation beastmasters in our country. You and Pluto have familiars ranked on the Heavenly Familiar Rankings, and that’s something to be proud of."
As soon as she was done, an announcement was made.
[Regional Announcement: Heavenly Familiar Rankings, Champion Species Rankings Updated.]
[Heavenly Familiar added.]
[Species: Azure Flood Dragon]
[Heavenly Familiar added.]
[Species: Purple Lightning Flood Dragon]
[Heavenly Familiar added.]
[Ranked 4th on the Champion Heavenly Familiar Ranking!]
The series of announcements cast an eerie silence over the square. Over at the bar, Pluto and Canine King suddenly sobered up and raised their heads.
The bartender was confused as well, but not as much as Pluto and Canine King. They couldn’t believe their ears.
Finally, a scream shattered the silence.
"What the fuck is going on?! Why did a bunch of dragons just show up on the Champion ranking?!"
"Nine people appeared at the same time and squeezed out basically everyone else on the ranking. Pluto, Canine King, and the others are all off the leaderboard!"
"Where did those nine dragons come from?"
Listening to the crowd, Pluto and Canine King’s eyes nearly popped out of their heads. They jolted up and ran into Beastmaster Square, where they saw a huge group of people gathered around the Heavenly Familiar Rankings.
Pluto looked up only to find that his familiars had been pushed off of the rankings by a bunch of random strangers.
He blanked out. This moment was even more devastating than being unable to clear a Legendary secret realm.
Lu Ran was constantly towering over his head, and even after Lu Ran had finally moved on to the Overlord rankings, a new group of people appeared to bully him?
Where did they come from?
"Flood dragons..." Catching on much quicker, Canine King became gloomy. "Only two people in Xia are capable of breeding powerful Dragon familiars: Dragon Master Gu Qingy and Dragon Chef Lu Ran.
"They have to be the team that Lu Ran trained to copy the Tyrannosaurus Rex Squad."
Canine King was just about to discuss the situation some more with Pluto when he noticed that Pluto was about to keel over.
Canine King hurried to grab him before he fell.
The appearance of the Flood Dragon Squad shocked the entire nation. Since Canine King had already figured out the truth, others were bound to as well.
Many beastmasters realized that the government must’ve had a hand in this. If the Eagle Federation could create the Tyrannosaurus Rex Squad, then Xia could create a squad that was just as good.
Of course, Beastmaster University’s forums were in an uproar.
Struggling Student: 666! Master Lu Ran is so awesome! He must’ve personally trained the Flood Dragon Squad!
Master Lin’s Professor: He’s quite capable. Not only is he overpowered, but so are the people he trained. Lol! I wonder if the Combat Academy’s professors are traumatized now. All of the Flood Dragon Squad members should be university students. The other professors just can’t measure up.
Student Dreaming of Dragons: Help! How can I join them? I want to be at the top of the rankings too!
Lu Ran could only sigh in self-admiration. He didn’t expect the squad to turn out to be so powerful that they could immediately clear out the Limitless City #3 rankings.
1. The proverb “a flood dragon in water” (蛟龙得水) refers to someone being in the optimal environment for success. Flood dragons’ powers include creating clouds and rain, so they're at their strongest when they're in water. ☜